Scandinavian Design

furniture

Barcelona Sofa

The classic era of Scandinavian design which flourished in the mid-century was influenced by two earlier movements. The first was the Bauhaus movement which began in 1919. The famous Bauhaus (house of building) school in Weimar Germany opened and eventually became the most influential modern art school in history, spawning the first pioneers of modern furniture design, including Mies van der Rohe (Barcelona sofa, loveseat and daybed) and Marcel Breuer (Wassily Chair). The school later closed in 1933.

At the same time the Bauhaus movement was taking off in Germany, a modernist movement called Purism was beginning in France. It's pioneers were Le Corbusier and Ozenfant. Then in the mid 20's Le Corbusier became the first pioneer of the Art Deco movement which launched at the 1925 Expo in Paris. Le Corbusier was best known for his sofa, loveseat and chaise, all comprised of chrome-plated tubular steel, a common feature of Purist design. In 1964 Cassina of Milan was granted exclusive rights to manufacture his designs. Though many of his furniture reproductions are made today, only Cassina is authorized to produce the original design.

Le Corbusier Chaise

Egg Chair

In the mid-century, continuing the modernist legacy of their Western European predecessors, the Scandinavians began creating their own style of furniture designs. Scandinavian design took the concept of functionality which developed a few decades earlier in the Bauhaus Movement and added the simplistic beauty of minimalism. They created furniture pieces with clean lines and appealing aesthetics. Adding to the already commonly used leather and steel, they introduced reinforced plastics. Wood, abundant in the north, also became a common staple in scan design furniture. The Swedes often used light woods while the Danish designer commonly used dark mahogany. Iconic Scandinavian designers such as Arne Jacobsen (Swan and Egg Chairs﻿), Poul Kjaerholm (Hammock chair), Finn Juhl (Baker sofa), Hans Wegner (Wishbone chair) and Paul Volther (Corona chair) became international household names, as did their designs.

Some of the most famous works of scan design came actually not from Scandinavia but from from their Nordic neighbor, Finland. The Scandinavian countries officially consist of Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland, while the Nordic countries consist of Norway, Sweden and Finland. The greatest Finnish furniture designers include Alvar Aalto (Stool 60), Eero Aarnio (Pod, Ball and Bubble Chairs) and Eero Saarinen (Womb chair, sofa & ottoman, the Tulip Chair & armchair). ﻿Moving ﻿to the U.S. when he was young, Saarinen not only introduced Scandinavian modernism into the American mainstream and influenced mid-century American designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, but he was also as gifted in architecture as furniture design and designed the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

Womb Chair

Scandinavia has kept with it's traditions and Scandinavian decor still incorporates that same modern minimalist style. Likewise, both retro and contemporary furnished homes in the U.S. have these creative geniuses to thank, from where this modern decor was influenced.